GRAMPALL JOOKABOX IS DEAD. LONG LIVE JOOKABOX!

May 8th, 2009 , by

Grampall Jookabox is now Jookabox. Extensive focus group testing revealed that enjoyment of Grampall Jookabox in the ever-important 18-31 age demographic increases 3.2% when told they’re listening to Jookabox rather than Grampall Jookabox. Not only that, words take up paper and, these days, bandwidth. And those things take up environment. And, in the interest of environment (and focus group testing), David "Moose" Adamson has decided to buckle down and trim his bandname from Grampall Jookabox to Jookabox.

Needless to say, it was not a good Friday afternoon when Moose sat Grampall down and laid him off. But, it has freed up the resources to complete the fifth in the Unusual Animals vinyl series, and a free mixtape. Grampal…er…Jookabox occupies Side A of the 7", and Dosh Side B. Jared Chapman continues illustrating the cover art, this time employing the deceptively unusual Yellow Seahorse. Read details here.

To commemorate this change in ‘tude, Jookabox (now unshackled from the logistical wranglings of Grampall, who never would have approved of such freeness) has provided a free mixtape – 317 Ways. You can download it song by song, or the entire thing, right here.

ZACK BENT WITH GALLERY OPENING IN SEATTLE TONIGHT

May 7th, 2009 , by

"Swiss Family Army Knife"

If you listen to our records (thanks, by the way!) then you have probably seen Zack Bent’s work before. Most notably, Zack and his wife Gala designed the imaginative packaging and menus for the eclectic and librarical Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD. He is definitely one of our favorite visual artists around.

Tonight in Seattle, Gallery4Culture is holding a reception for some of Zack’s newest work, entitled Buffalo Trace. The pieces focus on the Boy Scouts as metaphor for a rethinking of American tribes and communities at large. Zack: "I am interested in how my culture (family) can query human behavior by replaying our life to the tune of other histories."

In other words, this should be good. Details here, or you can visit Zack’s webpage here. Click more for a few representative photographs.


"Burning Bush"


"Coverings I: Confusion"

RAFTER: AS LIVE AS YOU CAN GET WITHOUT BEING LIVE

May 6th, 2009 , by

photo by Edan at thepiratehat
Not all of us are lucky enough to wait in San Diego for Rafter to tour, then stalk and follow him to wherever he’s playing, then dance our little hearts out while he plays, then return to San Diego and wait.
But! Some kind soul (Houtaper, actually) went to one of Rafter’s shows at SXSW, recorded it, and then sent it to another kind soul at nyctaper. They’ve posted it in its entirety for download right here. Did we say Rafter plays a lot of songs about sex and love?
Ok, wait…here’s an idea. Don’t listen to it yet. Download it, burn it to CD (make it gapless for ultimate experience!), then invite over about 15 friends. Turn off the lights, plug in the Christmas lights. Then turn this up real loud. PARTY. Record. Post to YouTube, and let us know the link.

"Fruit (Live)" (Download)

ANNOUNCING NEW ARTIST, ALBUM: HELADO NEGRO WITH AWE OWE [FREE MP3]

April 30th, 2009 , by

Photo by Kristi Sword

Roberto C. Lange is one of those guys who is inherently and instinctively prolific; to list everything he’s done in the last few years would just make create a lot of extra work for bullet points. Instead, suffice it to say that we here at Asthmatic Kitty are lucky enough, and proud, to be home for Lange’s latest project: Helado Negro.

Formed since he moved to NYC in 2006, Helado Negro is the culmination of years of musical experimentation and experience synthesized with the vibrancy of the Brooklyn musical and art culture. Musicians and bands like Prefuse 73, Feathers, and Stars Like Fleas (among others) all contribute members in some form or other. Inspirations for sound are as diverse as they are numerous. This album is steeped in DJ, art, and multiculturalism.

We have had the fortune to hear the first produce of Helado Negro, a remarkable full-length album Lange has titled Awe Owe – "ah!" for realization, "oh?" for the never-ending pursuit of learning. It is an absolutely terrific and compelling listen.

We will release Awe Owe August 4, 2009. That’s good timing, because this album of latin experiment and exploration is the perfect music for sitting in a saggy lawnchair in the swelter of summer, watching everything pass by from the comfort of your porch while Awe Owe weaves its way from your boombox to your ears. You can read about Helado Negro here, and Awe Owe here.

"Deja" (Download)

SHARA WORDEN OF MBD WITH DECEMBERISTS ON COLBERT REPORT

April 29th, 2009 , by

You can see this in real life somewhere near you. See The Decemberists’ dates here.

DM STITH TO RELEASE NEW EP [FREE MP3]

April 28th, 2009 , by

Photo by Ben Wilkerton Tousley

Heavy Ghost, the full-length debut from newcomer DM Stith, astounded. "This is the music of your life," wrote Bryan Sanchez of Adequacy.net. "Post-modern tribal folk" genre-fied Urb. And Q Magazine called the work "extraordinary." We are usually modest, but we here at AK completely agree. The album has been on rotation here at the offices for some time.

So when Stith approached us with a trilogy of EP’s, we couldn’t help but say yes, yes, yes. His first is BMB, a robust seven song exploration in and around the sixth track from Heavy Ghost. In addition to a demo version of "BMB" and remixes by Roberto Carlos Lange and Son Lux, the EP includes two cover songs semi-related to "BMB." Stith covers Randy Newman’s "Suzanne" and the Ronettes "Be My Baby." We get to release the album on July 1, 2009.

In the meantime, enjoy a free mp3 from the album, or pick up Heavy Ghost here ($10/CD; $12/LP).

CRYPTACIZE: A COMMERCIAL FOR MYTHOMANIA

April 28th, 2009 , by


Buy the CD for $10, or the LP for $12 here.

LIZETH-RAFTER ENGAGEMENT PARTY-FEST-SHOW!

April 27th, 2009 , by


Get this: Rafter is engaged! And to photographer Lizeth Santos no less, the girl who did the cover art on Rafter’s last album, Sweaty Magic, and has repeatedly inspired Rafter to do such things as the art project a day!

To celebrate the engagement, Lizeth and Rafter are throwing an an engagement party/art show/music show/jamboree. Lizeth has made a whole series of heart-themed photos, and Rafter and friends, playing as "smile now, cry later," will play some covers of their favorite love jams.

And seeing as how you’re a friend, you should go to congratulate them in person! The lovejamfestparty is on Thursday April 30th, 9pm at the Whistlestop Bar in San Diego (21+).

Click more to see the full promo poster and a tease of Lizeth’s heart-themed photography.

MBD SETS FREE “THE HONEY BEE” TO BENEFIT INVISIBLE CHILDREN

April 25th, 2009 , by

Inspired by the honey bees housed on Detroit’s urban farms, Shara wrote a song, “The Honey Bee." It’s available for free download on The Biggest Label Ever right here (registration required).

Why all the hubbabaloo?  On April 25th, the non-profit Invisible Children will be staging a global event in an effort to rescue the 3,000 child soldiers in Uganda.  Many other artists in addition to MBD are donating music for the cause. Visit the main page of The Biggest Label Ever here.

SUFJAN STEVENS TALKS SM57s, C100s, AKG K 240 DFs, AND TOP ENDS

April 24th, 2009 , by

If you understood any of the words in that title, and you enjoy the music of Sufjan Stevens, then you will thoroughly enjoy Tape Op‘s interview with Sufjan. Our very own Rafter is interviewer, and he diligently mines out all the gnarly details of Sufjan’s recording process and finally solves the Great 32kHz Michigan Mystery. NYC recording studio The Buddy Project has it partially posted right here. For the complete interview, buy a shiny copy at your favorite newstand, or better yet – subscribe already!

For those wishing a less numerical Sujfan read, you may instead peruse his new post on the Sidebar, which tackles topics wholly unrelated to sound engineering. Read here.

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